Trace - Formations of Likeness.

This publication charts the Haus der Kunst München exhibition TraceFormations of Likeness, drawn exclusively from The Walther Collection. The exhibition explores portrait photography and the tracing of societal transfor-mation across geographic spaces as well as contrasting sociopolitical and cultural landscapes. Portrait photog-raphy has been deployed as a means to shape identity, to advocate for social change, and as a subversive strategy for visibility, often through an intimate investigation of the politics of memory, history, and embodiment. This book encompasses works from the last two hun-dred years and brings together artists from Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The juxtaposition of archival, documentary, and vernacular photography offers a global context to reflect on the divergent trajectories of historical and contemporary photography today. Collectively, these works showcase the mediums capacity as both an instru-ment for empowerment and a formation of the self, as well as its complex uses as a tool for control and subjugation.